The League of Legends version of Jack Sparrow is not as charming as Johnny Depp, but he brings out an exciting kit that is both destructive and useful. Suddenly a spree of cannonballs falls from the sky from the other side of the map, and Gangplank laughs as he gets yet another kill.
Gangplank is a highly skill-capped carry. While slightly weak in the lane phase, he makes up for it with a strong impact across the map during the mid-game and hyper-carry status during the late game. Although he isn’t tanky, he’s got several skills that can be used to stay in fight longer, from his oranges to his speed boost to his slows.
Also read: Best ADCs to Pair With Pyke
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Countering Gangplank’s Spells
Gangplank has a surprising burst and very decent waveclear. If he places a barrel close to him or inside the melee minions, be careful if he drops a barrel on you and instantly ignites it from the chain reaction. Avoid using multiple CCs on Gangplank because he can get rid of it by using his Remove Scurvy (W).
Try to coordinate with your team to force him to use it and then catch him off guard while it is on CD. During the early game, buying armor against Gangplank is very effective as it will lower the damage from his Parrrley and auto-attacks. Don’t recall on low health under your turret. He’ll use his Cannon Barrage (R) there.
Most Common Gangplank Combos
The most standard combo is E→wait→E→Q. If Gangplank wants to hit you, one barrel will rarely be enough. Another traditional combo to expect from Gangplank is E→auto-attack→E→Q. These combos can be in a variation of 3 barrels (E) as well.
Be aware that every time a Powder Keg (E) explodes, the cooldown for Trial by Fire (passive) resets, and Gangplank gains its bonus movement speed. He can use this to apply his passive to you two times in rapid succession. This can be used to melt towers as well.
Gangplank’s Weaknesses
1. Mobility
Lack of mobility options outside of his movement speed buffs is unfortunate for Gangplank but an ideal situation for us. Without his orange (W) to remove CC, he only can gain movement speed from his passive.
2. CC
Besides his orange (W), Gangplank has no real way to escape CC other than burning his Cannon Barrage (R) and praying he can make it under a tower.
3. Scaling
If Gangplank falls behind, he will not be as helpful as he could be. He is very reliant on items. He takes time to scale up, and we can not forget that he is hard to master as well.
Also read: Best ADCs to Pair With Sett
The Best Gangplank Lane Counters In Season 12
1. Tryndamere
Tryndamere is very easy to learn and has excellent mobility. With the gold difference of +460 gold at the 15th-minute mark, Tryndamere is the champion that is an ideal pick against Gangplank. His built-in healing with Q helps him with poke, and he has chasing potential with E, which allows him even to dodge Gangplank’s barrels (E) detonations.
His Undying Rage (R) makes him unkillable for a period of time. This makes Tryndamere hard to kill, providing you time to kill the enemy or even to survive Gangplank sniping Tryndamere with his Cannon Barrage (R).
2. Aatrox
Aatrox is a harder to learn champion, has few skill shots, and has a solid early game. With the gold difference of +150 gold at the 15th-minute mark, Aatrox is the champion that is an ideal pick against Gangplank.
His kit is handy to bully Gangplank during the laning phase and can snowball quite quickly. If you can get an early lead, try to abuse it to get more kills in the lane to increase your chances of winning the game.
Aatrox is a very mobile champion thanks to his Umbral Dash (E), as it can be used in many ways, either offensively or defensively. He has tons of sustain thanks to his Passive and Ultimate World Ender (R). All of this will increase your survivability in team fights and skirmishes with Gangplank.
Honorable Mention: Irelia
Irelia is very hard to learn as well, offers CC, and superb mobility. With the gold difference of +120 gold at the 15th-minute mark, Irelia is relatively reasonable to pick against Gangplank. The damage she can deal with a fully stacked Passive allows her to perform a lot of outplays if she uses her Bladesurge (Q) properly along with her Passive.
Her Flawless Duet (E) allows her to land a CC and her Ultimate Vanguard’s Edge (R) not only prevents the enemy from escaping quickly but also allows her teammates to follow up with CC or damage to the enemy team.
Also read: Best ADCs to Pair With Taric
The Best Champions To Counter Gangplank In Season 12
1. Vladimir
The mid-lane scaling champion that can snowball in a game and win it for his team due to the natural healing he has through his abilities.
His Sanguine Pool (W) allows him to get out of sticky situations quite easily while also avoiding ganks from the enemy team. He can produce significant AOE damage to the enemy team due to his Ultimate Hemoplague (R) and Tides of Blood (E).
2. Evelynn
Evelynn, as a jungler, has high burst damage and can quickly get rid of squishy enemy carries. Once she unlocks her Ultimate Last Caress (R), any enemy carriers who are left alone will die as soon as Evelynn goes in on them.
If the enemy team doesn’t invest in Control Wards, they will get run down easily. Her Ultimate Last Caress (R) allows her to escape situations where she may get CCed and killed. All this will enable her to just pick an easy kill on Gangplank.
3. Twitch
In the bot lane, we have Twitch that can use his Ambush (Q) to scout around and set a vision for his team. Besides that, his Venom Cask (W) allows for some crowd control set-up for his team, which they can follow up on.
His Ultimate Spray and Pray (R) will enable him to shred through the enemy team further away with ease as it increases his range. All this gives him the power to fight Gangplank very well.
Also read: Best ADCs to Pair With Sona
Best Items To Counter Gangplank In Season 12
1. Armor And Health
Both of these are generally the best you can build against Gangplank that builds damage. To be specific, Plated Steelcaps, Zhonya’s Hourglass, or any general tank items that provide health and armor.
2. Items With Dash Active
Last but not least are items such as Galeforce, Hextech Rocketbelt, or Prowler’s Claw that allow you to dodge Gangplank’s E or even his R.
3. Range
Since Gangplank is melee, you can take advantage of this by picking champions with range to abuse this weakness.
Conclusion
Gangplank is weaker in the early game, although that does not mean he is to be underestimated. He is a scaling champion that can output severe damage in the late game. After reading our guide, we firmly believe that you found a few tips that you can use next time to counter him.
Pick a champion within our recommended counters that you are most familiar with and feel most comfortable playing with. If you did not find any of your favorite champions from our list, try to pick something that has reliable CC or mobility.
If he uses his Remove Scurvy (W), he is very vulnerable to ganks. His only way to escape will be his passive movement speed or Flash.
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